Wayback Wednesday: NBA in the Zone Retrospective

In this week's Wayback Wednesday, Andrew takes a look back at Konami's NBA in the Zone with an in-depth retrospective.

The post Wayback Wednesday: NBA in the Zone Retrospective appeared first on NLSC.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA in the Zone, developed and released by Konami.

The sim-arcade hybrid genre of basketball video games is one that I’ve really come to appreciate in recent years. I didn’t play many of them growing up, as I preferred NBA Live for its more realistic approach to the sim style, and NBA Jam for its definitive arcade experience. While I ultimately still prefer games that are firmly sim or arcade in their style of play, sim-arcade hybrid titles undoubtedly have their place. The best ones strike a fun balance between a realistic depiction of basketball, and exaggerating the action for looser, up-tempo gameplay that takes a few liberties with accuracy.

Because they occupy a middle ground between simulation and arcade games, there are a handful of games that could be considered sim-arcade hybrids. And 1 Streetball is definitely in the conversation, mixing 5-on-5 gameplay with some power-ups and slightly exaggerated dunks. NBA Live 2003’s wackier elements arguably make it a candidate, though it’s still mostly sim at its core. When I think of prime examples of sim-arcade hybrid games though, Konami’s hoops titles are what come to mind, and that includes NBA in the Zone. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Just as Midway perfected the “pure” arcade style of gameplay with the original NBA Jam and NBA Jam Tournament Edition, it could be argued that Konami did the same for the sim-arcade hybrid. That began with 1993’s Run and Gun: an arcade-only game that wasn’t NBA licensed, but established many of the hallmarks of the hybrid genre: fast-paced 5-on-5 gameplay with limited infractions and more physicality, accelerated game clock, and players jumping higher and further than normal on dunks. Players didn’t soar into the rafters as in NBA Jam though, and fouls were still called. Run and Gun was ported to Super Nintendo with the NBA license, becoming NBA Give ‘n Go.

Konami followed up NBA Give ‘n Go with NBA in the Zone on PlayStation and Run and Gun II in arcades, though NBA in the Zone is considered to be the first game in a new series. It nevertheless bears a similarity to its predecessors though, retaining the more casual and up-tempo sim-arcade hybrid style of gameplay. While ostensibly set in the 1996 season, NBA in the Zone featured final 1995 season rosters, owing to the offseason lockout that likewise affected the 16-bit versions of NBA Live 96. Like NBA Live 96 16-bit, and the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition for that matter, team branding was updated to reflect the new designs for the 1996 season.

Due to a combination of each team consisting of just five players, the lockout, and the absence of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal, NBA in the Zone features a few rather unusual lineups. Chicago’s five, for example, consists of Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Pete Myers, and Will Perdue. Willie Burton joins Philadelphia’s lineup, while Rex Walters is part of New Jersey’s five. Tom Chambers is essentially the man in the middle in Utah, despite not being a centre or a starter. It’s clear that the developers were aiming for the most interesting five-man squads, since there are no substitutions. And they say positionless basketball is a modern concept!

While we’re on the subject of roster trivia – and you know how much I enjoy that – B.J. Armstrong and Jerome Kersey can be found on the Toronto Raptors, despite never playing for them. The 1995 Expansion Draft had taken place before the lockout went into effect, allowing those selections and any trades made during the rookie Draft to be part of the final 1995 season rosters. Armstrong, who didn’t want to play for the Raptors, was traded to Golden State. Kersey was released, but coincidentally ended up joining the Warriors as well. Aside from players who moved on or left the NBA following the lockout, no other players are out of place on any other teams.

Those aren’t the only roster oddities – Sam Cassell is on the Rockets ahead of actual starter Kenny Smith, Tree Rollins replaces Shaq in Orlando, and Wayman Tisdale is Chuck’s stand-in on the Suns – but apart from that, each team’s five is either accurate or makes a logical replacement. With that being said, let’s talk gameplay! Once again, the gameplay is very reminiscent of Run and Gun and NBA Give ‘n Go. Players move speedily around the court, never tiring, and soaring to the rim for acrobatic finishes. While there are no over-the-top NBA Jam-style slams, a majority of the players can nevertheless throw down huge, spectacular dunks, and take off from a long way out.

This “exaggerated, but not too wacky” style of gameplay is a staple of sim-arcade hybrids, and can be a lot of fun. It can also be a weakness though as it means a lack of player differentiation, and that is an issue in NBA in the Zone. Almost everyone is throwing down big dunks, blocking and stealing with ease, and even knocking down three-pointers. As such, don’t be surprised if the CPU narrows the gap with a trey by someone like the late Eric Montross! The game is balanced almost to a fault as far as keeping the scores close against the CPU. A majority of games will end up being a wild shootout with occasional big stops, and both teams shooting a high percentage.

However, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s the casual approach that the gameplay is aiming for, and if you’re not after a serious representation of basketball, but also don’t want to go full arcade, NBA in the Zone can be really enjoyable. There’s no sprint control, but players speed up accordingly as you begin to drive, and an action button to perform crossover and spin moves helps to elude defenders. It’s definitely not realistic, but there’s tremendous satisfaction in pulling off a well-timed spin on a drive from the perimeter, taking off from beyond the dotted line with your head above the rim, and putting whoever’s in your way on a poster with a reverse or cradle dunk!

Players can go out of bounds, and the ball will be knocked out of play through steal attempts, as well as big swats that are satisfying to pull off. A lot of physicality is allowed in the paint, so as not to discourage defenders from meeting opponents at the rim (or indeed, clearly above it). Too much contact will result in a shooting foul being whistled however, with free throw shooting requiring an indicator to be stopped above the hoop. The controls are basic but effective, making the game easy to pick up and play. Mind you, there are a couple of mechanics that are poorly designed, and while you can get used to them and make them work, I won’t pretend they aren’t annoying.

Without a doubt, passing is the biggest issue. Passes reach the intended recipient often enough, but to that point, you must manually select the player you want to pass to; there’s no directional passing! This severely impacts the ability to make quick passes, as you’ll likely pass back and forth between the same two players instead of hitting the cutter or open man on the perimeter. Even if you’re quick on the select button, it often won’t toggle to the desired recipient until after the defense has recovered. It’s one of the clunkiest passing systems I’ve encountered, though at least it doesn’t result in too many cheap interceptions, or out of bounds turnovers. You can make it work…mostly.

As I mentioned, blocks feel good, but rebounding is hit and miss, even when it seems as though you’ve timed your jump properly. Of course, this isn’t uncommon in many older basketball games! Steals can be effective and trigger some fast breaks that feel good – as long as the passing mechanics don’t let you down – but all steal attempts are big lunges for the ball, which does move your player out of position on D. It’s bound to cause you to give up some buckets, but it won’t be a problem to get them back at the other end. Like many sim-arcade hybrids, the gameplay is geared for offense, but you can defend well enough to make putting in the effort at both ends worthwhile.

The default camera angle in NBA in the Zone is the same baseline-oriented view from Run and Gun, and NBA Give ‘n Go. During the first half, the camera will be behind the home team on offense, as they attack the far basket. The away team will be facing the camera on offense, with player movement being camera relative. This can be very disorienting at times, especially when the teams change direction at the half! The pace and zoom can add to the difficulty here, in which case I’d recommend changing to one of the two other camera views: either the broadcast-style sideline view, or what the game labels quarter view, which is basically the old school isometric camera angle.

Despite being generally fast-paced, there are a couple of things that slow down NBA in the Zone’s gameplay. The first is the aforementioned pass selection that forces you to stop and toggle between recipients, thus favouring half court play and making fast breaks more challenging. The second are the post-basket replays and cutscenes. They happen after every basket, and while you can skip the replay, you have to wait until the scene of the player running back on D ends. It’s not as bad as in some other games – such as Arch Rivals – but it does affect the flow of the action, preventing any quick inbounds passes and transitional buckets before the defense can get back and settled.

At the same time, I do appreciate the instant replays, especially as the game lacks a manual replay on the Pause screen. I also have to commend the graphics. Yes, it’s an early 3D title, and they frequently don’t age well. NBA in the Zone’s faces and body models are certainly blocky and indisputably primitive by modern standards, but for a game that was released in 1995, its graphics are impressive; especially when properly upscaled. Jerseys are detailed, you can distinguish between player faces, and they even have arm and leg accessories. There’s limited commentary – not quite play-by-play – catchy music, and good TV-style presentation. It has a great look and vibe.

Unfortunately, NBA in the Zone definitely suffered from a lack of depth, and some clunky design. You can actually change the quarter length mid-game, which means if you need more time to come back from a deficit, or you want to end the game before your opponent can catch up, you can meddle with the clock to make it happen! This can be done in Exhibition and Playoffs mode, making it a game-breaker. On the plus side, you can select anywhere from two to twelve minute quarters, which is more flexibility than many games have provided, including the early NBA Live titles. The Playoffs can also be set to single elimination, or the contemporary 5-7-7-7 format.

Those are the only two modes of play, however: single exhibition, and a Playoff with randomised brackets. It’s certainly more than a game like Double Dribble offered, but NBA Live was already providing users with a full single Season mode, as well as a standalone Playoffs mode. NBA Live 96 also added roster customisation, which not surprisingly, isn’t available in NBA in the Zone with its five-man squads. This means there isn’t much depth or replay value as a single player experience, but multiplayer could certainly keep it fresh for longer. It’s a little shallow, even for a game released in 1995, but there was enough to at least keep it in the rotation back when it was new.

I personally feel that NBA in the Zone plays best on shorter quarters. The speed of the gameplay allows you to put up points in a hurry, so you’ll still have ample time to pull rack up buckets and perform highlight plays. With the score balancing, it can turn into a repetitive, drawn out shootout on longer quarters. At the same time, the on-court action is still engaging. Not many basketball video games back in 1995 allowed you to manually perform dribbling moves, so breaking out a spin or crossover before slamming it home, tossing up a graceful hook, laying it in with finesse, or stroking a longer jumper, does feel good. Tip dunks are also simple, yet satisfying to pull off.

Therefore, while I would recommend playing on shorter quarters, the gameplay itself does hold up fairly well over two decades later. The passing mechanics are easily the biggest weakness, and the sim-arcade hybrid style isn’t for everyone, but I find it to be an enjoyable change of pace from titles that are firmly simulation or arcade. Its casual style is great for a quick session, and there’s bound to be a few moments every game that get you pumped up. NBA in the Zone received mixed reviews at the time, and while they may have been harsh, I don’t entirely disagree with them. I’d rank it behind games like NBA Live 96 – especially on PC – as well as the original NBA Jam titles.

Still, it’s commendable that it tried something a little different, falling somewhere in between NBA Live and NBA Jam stylistically. For gamers who were new to the NBA and basketball, it could’ve served as a decent introduction to the sport, featuring the biggest stars and some of the other key players throughout the league, with gameplay that accounts for most of the basic rules (though you’re physically unable to commit a backcourt violation). At the same time, you don’t have to worry about substitutions, playcalling, or deep strategies. Of course, for the same reasons, it wouldn’t have been a hit with gamers desiring a more realistic and sophisticated virtual hoops experience.

Then again, it could’ve also been an acceptable compromise between hardcore hoop heads, and gamers who were more casual basketball fans. Again, I’ve warmed up to sim-arcade hybrids, and while NBA in the Zone and its ilk don’t rank among my all-time favourites, I recognise their value and do enjoy revisiting them. The first NBA in the Zone was light on modes and content, and had some clunky moments, but it can absolutely be a fun time too, even today. It also helped Konami to get a foothold in the basketball gaming market back in the 90s, to try to compete with series such as NBA Live. NBA in the Zone 2 took the next step…but that’s a story for another day.

The post Wayback Wednesday: NBA in the Zone Retrospective appeared first on NLSC.